Optimal operation and stabilising control of the concentric heat-integrated distillation column (HIDiC)

This paper presents the application of a systematic control configuration design procedure on the HIDiC with a reboiler. The application is illustrated through two case studies of industrial relevance, namely the separation of benzene/toluene and a multicomponent mixture of aromatic compounds. Results of static optimisations and dynamic simulations are presented based on a realistic column model, which accounts for dynamic pressure drops and liquid holdups, dynamic energy balances and more.

Using a decentralised control scheme, good stabilising and economic performance are achieved by controlling both column section pressures and the temperature profile in one of the sections, while the economic variables are controlled by cascade control loops. Guidelines for the design of both the regulatory control layer and the supervisory control layer are provided.